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Chen tells firms to put Taiwan first

"I hope Taiwan businesspeople will walk around the island when they are back during the Lunar New Year and discover the potential in investing in Taiwan's industries."

President Chen Shui-bian

The president yesterday called for Taiwanese businesspeople and companies to invest more in Taiwan, saying they should take the national interest into account and reduce their dependence on China.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made the remarks in a speech at a New Year's gathering for Taiwanese businesspeople investing in China at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. The event was hosted by the quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation.

Many Taiwanese firms want a widening of cross-strait trade ties, such as allowing direct cross-strait flights, scrapping a cap on investments in China and opening the country to Chinese tourists. But a series of recent remarks from Chen indicating a tougher stance against China have dashed their hopes.

"I hope Taiwan businesspeople will walk around the island when they are back during the Lunar New Year and discover the potential in investing in Taiwan's industries," Chen said.

Chen also reiterated comments made during a speech early last month, in which he proposed a tighter policy of "active management, effective opening" toward Taiwan's investments in China.

Unconditional love

Chen said that the businesspeople cannot isolate themselves from their homeland, which cares for them "unconditionally."

Chen said that, facing quickly-changing cross-strait relations, the Taiwanese government has already adopted a new mindset and way of doing things.

Taking the successful operation of charter flights during the Lunar New Year holiday as an example, Chen said that it could be attributed to the government's new mindset stressing more "active management."

The latest statistics show that the number of passengers using the service has increased ten-fold in three years, with fewer than 2,500 in 2003 but 26,368 this year, as of Sunday.

Chen said that the success of businesspeople from areas in what are now Shanxi and Anhui provinces in China can be attributed to cohesion and discipline.

"If Taiwanese businesspeople investing in China go their own way [instead of sticking together], they will only be regarded as people that can be easily exploited," Chen said.

Chen told Taiwanese business-people of the necessity of balancing personal and national interests.

"Maybe not all of you are satisfied with some measures. But new regulations will definitely be good for the common interests of all Taiwanese people," Chen said.

Chen encouraged businesspeople to send capital back to Taiwan and said that to encourage this, the government has adjusted regulations regarding the tax system, land acquisition, labor conditions and technology.

The nation's total trade with China, including Hong Kong, grew 13 percent to hit a record high of US$93.4 billion last year, based on figures from the Ministry of Finance.

Shipments to China made up 38 percent of Taiwan's total exports last year.

Taiwan's businesspeople have been actively investing in China over the past decade, opening everything from massage parlors to wafer fabs. An estimated 1 million Taiwan people, or more than 4 percent of the nation's 23 million population, now live in China.

The government approved investments of US$43.7 billion to China from 1994 to last year, official data showed, though analysts say the actual amount could be much higher, as some Taiwanese capital is routed indirectly to China through third parties.

Newly appointed Economics Minister Hwang Ing-san (黃營杉) also urged Taiwan's businesses to look for investment opportunities in India.

Echoing voice

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) speaking at the same event, added his voice to Chen's call for Taiwanese businesspeople to invest more in Taiwan.

Su said that in return, he promised to create an excellent investment environment.

"To ensure Taiwan's sustainable development, the government has to create a mutually beneficial environment for both Taiwan and its businesses and build an excellent investment environment. I hope this will persuade Taiwanese businesspeople to invest more in Taiwan," Su said.

He said that under globalization, the nation's overseas investment demonstrated the expansion and extension of Taiwan's economic power.

Su also praised overseas Taiwanese businesspeople, describing them as the nation's frontline talent in international economic integration.

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